Lassa fever: One dead in UK of Ebola-like virus, all you need to know

A patient hospitalised for Lassa fever died last week at Luton and Dunstable Hospital in Bedfordshire, East of England, health officials confirmed.

A Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said, “We confirm the sad death of a patient at our trust, who had confirmed Lassa fever. We will continue to support the patient’s family and our staff and are working closely with colleagues from the UK Health Security Agency to undertake a robust contact tracing exercise,” the BBC reported. 

At least two other cases of the animal-borne disease have been reported in the country so far, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) had announced on Wednesday.

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The three patients are all members of the same family and had recently travelled to West Africa — where the acute virus is endemic in some places. These are the first reports of the virus being detected in the UK in over a decade.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA said, “Cases of Lassa fever are rare in the UK and it does not spread easily between people. The overall risk to the public is very low,” reported BBC.

National Health Service (NHS) East of England has declared a “regional major incident”. It said in a statement, “UKHSA advice is that some staff at the hospitals where the patients have been treated may need to undergo testing and wear more personal protective equipment (PPE) than normal.”

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“Staff in direct contact with confirmed cases will have to self-isolate for a period of time. This is standard procedure and precautionary only. Because of the impact this will have on staffing key services in our region, we have declared a regional major incident. This allows the region’s healthcare systems to work together to keep services running safely.”

What is Lassa Fever?

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses.  

The virus can be spread through contact with the bodily fluids (blood, saliva, urine or semen) of infected people, like Ebola. 

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The World Health Organisation explains that humans usually become infected with Lassa virus through exposure to food or household items contaminated with urine or faeces of infected Mastomys rats. The disease is endemic in the rodent population in parts of West Africa.  

Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission are also possible, particularly in health care settings in the absence of adequate infection prevention and control measures.

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The case-fatality rate of the disease 1%, and about 15% among hospitalised patients with severe infection. Early supportive care with rehydration and symptomatic treatment improves survival. the health body said. 

About 80% of people who become infected with Lassa virus have no symptoms. 1 in 5 infections result in severe disease, where the virus affects several organs such as the liver, spleen and kidneys.